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It’s
been a historic week for Tim Burke and the U.S. biathlon team.
The
27-year-old from Paul Smiths became the first American to medal at
the sprint distance Saturday, two days after he matched the best
U.S. finish in any biathlon event with a silver in the 20-kilometer.
It’s the first time the Americans have been on the biathlon podium
twice in one week.
“It
helps my confidence,” said Burke, who was third in the 10-kilometer
race behind Norwegians Ole Einar Bjorndalen and Emil Hegle Svendsen.
“I have confirmation my training this year went well. I know I can
compete with guys in any of the racing styles, and that does a lot
more than any training can do.”
Burke
was a perfect 10 for 10 shooting and finished in 24:07.3, 37 seconds
behind Bjorndalen, the five-time Olympic gold medalist.
On
Thursday, Burke tied for the best finish ever by a U.S. biathlete by
placing second to Svendsen in the season-opening 20K race.
“It’s
a very, very big deal for us,” said Max Cobb, U.S. Biathlon’s
executive director. “It’s just so much fun to see this Olympic
season begin this way. Biathlon is not a well-known sport in the
United States, and this is just the perfect way for biathlon to make
its national debut.”
In
the women’s 7.5K, Tora Berger of Norway won in 21:21.5, hitting
every target in strong wind. Olga Medvedtseva was second, 6.8
seconds behind.
Biathlon, which combines cross-country skiing with rifle
marksmanship, is wildly popular in Europe, where it is the top-rated
winter sport on television. Not surprisingly, it’s dominated by
Europeans, particularly the Norwegians, Germans and Russians.
The
Americans have been trying to crash the party for years, with little
success. Before last season, they’d won a grand total of four medals
- at any distance - at World Cups and the world championships.
But
U.S. Biathlon overhauled its program after the 2006 Torino Olympics.
The U.S. Olympic Committee quadrupled the federation’s funding from
$250,000 a year to $1 million, and sponsor TD Bank pitched in, too.
That
allowed the Americans to hire Swedish coach Per Nilsson, along with
shooting coach Armin Auchentaller and high-performance director
Bernd Eisenbichler.
“Four
years ago I thought I was training hard. And then I met Per,” said
Burke, who said Nilsson has increased not only the volume of
training but the intensity. “The entire staff has given me
everything I need to compete with the best in world.”
The
results are clear, with three medals in a nine-month span.
Jeremy Teela’s
bronze at a World Cup event in March ended a 17-year U.S. medal
drought. The other top two American men have also had top-15
finishes.
“It’s
changed a lot over the last few years,” Burke said. “For the people
who follow biathlon, (the recent success) is not a huge surprise. It
was a matter of time before we broke through.”
Burke
and Teela’s success could be the start of what U.S. Biathlon hopes
is a watershed season. Winter sports, particularly the smaller ones,
get more attention in an Olympic year, and Burke’s results are sure
to inspire the rest of the U.S. team.
“I’m
not superhuman. They know they can beat me on most days, and for
sure the podium is possible for the rest of the guys,” Burke said.
The
Americans have never won an Olympic medal - haven’t even come close.
Their best finish was a sixth in the relay event, and that was back
in 1972.
But
as Burke showed in a matter of three days, anything is possible.
“It
has been a two-decade goal of ours to do this,” Cobb said. “For
Americans in biathlon to win a medal at the Olympics, in Europe’s
favorite winter sport – maybe it’s not quite the Miracle on Ice of
1980, but it’s darn close.”
-The Associated Press, 12-8-09 |